Luge doubles

Steu/Kindel win the overall World Cup

Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl in the ice channel

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

The new luge duo Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl, who only formed before this season, have secured the overall World Cup in the doubles' event.

Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl have won the overall doubles World Cup in their first season together. The newly formed ÖRV duo finished third in the final competition in Sigulda on Saturday and took the big crystal globe with an 81-point lead over the Germans Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt, who finished second in the race. As in the previous week, victory went to the Latvian local heroes Martins Bots/Roberts Plume.

Steu and Kindl made it onto the podium ten times in twelve World Cup races, including three victories. "That was a brutal season. Two times European champion, two times runner-up in the World Cup and now the overall World Cup. We couldn't have imagined it ourselves. I have to say thank you to everyone who has supported us," explained Steu. For the Vorarlberg native, this is the second time he has won the big crystal globe, having already won it three years ago with Lorenz Koller.

Egle/Kipp on the podium
For his luge partner Kindl, it is the globe premiere. "It's really incredible. Nobody thought we could do it. We said we'd give the project a go. Of course it's a sensation that it worked out like this. We crowned this season with the overall World Cup," said the Tyrolean. World champions Juri Gatt/Riccardo Schöpf finished fourth on Saturday, while Yannick Müller/Armin Frauscher came twelfth. In the overall standings, they finished fifth (Gatt/Schöpf) and seventh.

In the women's doubles' event, Selina Egle and Lara Kipp finished third behind the Germans Jessica Degenhardt/Cheyenne Rosenthal and Dajana Eitberger/Saskia Schirmer in Sigulda. The overall World Cup went to the Italians Andrea Vötter/Marion Oberhofer, with the ÖRV duo finishing in fourth place. However, Egle/Kipp can also look back on a successful winter, which included the World Championship title, three World Cup victories and the sprint crystal globe. "A mega season, including the World Championship title. We know that we still have a lot of work to do at the start and that's what we're doing," said Egle.

No decision yet in the single-seater
In the single-seater competitions, only the first runs took place on Saturday. Nico Gleirscher posted the third-fastest time in the men's event, 0.094 seconds behind the leader Dominik Fischnaller from Italy and 0.015 behind Felix Loch (GER). Kindl and Jonas Müller are fifth and sixth, David Gleirscher is tenth. In the women's event, World Champion Lisa Schulte is in seventh place, 0.325 seconds behind the leading German overall World Cup winner Julia Taubitz. Madeleine Egle is eleventh, Hannah Prock 14th and Dorothea Schwarz 18th. The second runs and a team relay will take place on Sunday.